


Unhallowed Land

by penstrikesmidnight



Series: IwaOi Horror Week 2019 [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Anxiety, Buried Alive, Curses, Ghosts, IwaOi Horror Week, M/M, Possession, Stabbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 07:30:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21193916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penstrikesmidnight/pseuds/penstrikesmidnight
Summary: While on a weekend getaway, Tooru and Haijime stumble upon a cursed plot of land that could be fatal.





	Unhallowed Land

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts: **A cursed place**/the gang goes to Texas/**the land's no good here**/**no end in sight**/**we found this map**/**the second turn at the shrine**/the sea stretches forever
> 
> So I have been on a few cabin trips recently and was inspired to write this because of them. We can all tell how much I like camping. 
> 
> Also, this fic was definitely a reminder that I am a writer in editing and not in first drafts. So sorry if there are any errors. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Hajime never thought he would see the day Tooru came trooping down the stairs grinning from ear to ear because they were going camping. Well, not really camping, as they were going to a fully-furnished cabin, but still. Tooru had thrown enough fits about sleeping in the woods that Hajime had given up planning those kinds of outings long ago.

“Come on, Hajime, hurry! There’s a cute lodge the Airbnb people recommended to eat dinner at!”

Hajime rolled his eyes as he shoved the last of their luggage into the trunk. “Tooru, if we left now, we would arrive by five. I think we are fine.”

Tooru pouted, wrapping his arms around Hajime’s neck when he closed the car door. “Maybe I just wanna eat quick and spend time with you in our cabin.”

Hajime kissed him then grinned. “You’re awfully happy to be out in nature, my dear. I’m almost suspicious.”

Tooru wrinkled his nose. “First of all, we are in a cabin with electricity and a working bathroom that promises a jacuzzi tub! Secondly, this getaway was practically free. Believe me, my first choice is not traipsing through the woods to get to my house.”

Hajime laughed, kissing Tooru again, longer this time. “You’re such a brat. It’s probably, like, ten feet from the car to the door. Tomorrow we can sit on the porch and enjoy the cool weather...”

“If I didn’t know better I’d say you grew up in the wilderness,” Tooru interrupted. “But never fear, I brought bug spray because I knew you would want to go out. But I’m not going hiking. A relationship is all about compromise, Hajime.”

“And you are being very accommodating, oh great Oikawa-sama.” Hajime released his boyfriend, tuning out his grumbling as he got into the car. Tooru slammed his car door shut. Hajime was about to yell at him, but Tooru had clearly gotten over his petulance and now bounced in his seat.

As seniors in college their workloads had almost doubled. Hajime had taken eighteen credits last semester and planned on one more eighteen credit semester to graduate early. Tooru had just started two summer classes, so he could also graduate early. With all their work the only dates they had gone on lately were to the library for research projects, or four in the morning trips to the McDonald's that stayed open 24/7 on campus while one or the other finished a paper. Not to mention Tooru's increasingly busy volleyball schedule and Hajime's internship that was slowly turning into a permanent job, on top of being in America and, regardless of being here for three years, the language and culture were still draining by the end of a busy day. No wonder Tooru had jumped at the opportunity of a weekend getaway, even if it was to the middle of nowhere.

The drive was pretty. Tooru leaned on the window to get the best views, making sure to narrate everything he saw to Hajime over the loud, poppy music he had put on. Hajime wondered how he and Tooru had grown up as friends and yet Tooru had so little outdoor experience. Almost every holiday saw the Iwaizumi family out doing something--hiking, camping, biking. To Hajime it was like going home, only on a different continent. He should plan more outings, with or without Tooru.

Tooru's excitement lasted a total of an hour and ten minutes before he fell asleep mid-word. Hajime let out a sigh of relief, turning the music down.

Tooru woke up about ten minutes before they pulled into the lodge he had mentioned before they left. He pulled Hajime's arm toward him, snuggling into it. Tooru was always clingy when he woke up, which, truth be told, Hajime loved. He linked his arm through Tooru's, entwining their hands together.

"I had a strange dream..." Tooru murmured, closing his eyes again. "I couldn't find you. I'm glad you're here."

Hajime smiled. "Same."

Tooru jumped out of the car as soon as Hajime parked. Hajime watched him stretch, admiring the lines of his body. "C'mon, slowpoke!" Hajime got out, Tooru instantly by his side and dragging him in.

The lodge was small but cozy. A large brick fireplace took up the majority of the left wall, next to wooden stairs that led up to the second floor. The back wall was mostly windows, looking out at a stunning view of the mountains behind them. Tables and armchairs sat around the room, giving it a homey feeling. Around the corner was the dining area, which Tooru directed Hajime to.

There were two other patrons at the bar and one man working everything. "Howdy, folks!" he called out when he noticed Hajime and Tooru. Tooru waved. "Take a seat anywhere."

Tooru took a seat at the counter. Hajime slid into the seat next to him, closest to the wall. Tooru placed his hand on Hajime's knee. Excitement also made Tooru touchy. He slid over a menu for Hajime to peruse. They placed their order relatively quickly and once the kitchen had their order the man working the counter--Luke, read his name tag--came up to them. 

“So, what are you guys here for?” he asked, refilling Hajime’s water. 

“Just a weekend getaway before school starts ramping up again,” Tooru, always the conversationalist, answered.

"Oh yeah? What are you studying?"

Hajime tuned the conversation out as Tooru rattled on about their busy workloads, about being from Japan, about playing volleyball. Tooru could talk to anything that answered back. Without anything better to do, Hajime glanced over at the pictures on the wall next to him. Most of them were scenic shots of the mountain and the vegetation around the area, especially the skiing and snowboarding, but there were two maps that were also hanging in between them. Hajime studied them casually, noticing the words _the second turn at the shrine_ in the top right corner, which peaked his interest because why would there be a shrine in the middle of a small town in Arizona? Maybe he was mistaken.

"Apparently there used to be a town around here." Hajime jumped when a voice spoke from behind him. "Sorry. Here's your food."

"Oh? The town isn't here anymore?" Tooru asked. All the people in the room glanced at each other. Tooru gave Hajime a side look, suddenly shifting into his analytical mode. "Surely there must be some sort of ruins or relics or something?"

"No, nothing. Most people say it's a myth, but..." Luke shrugged. "There are enough...weird stories to perpetuate the idea."

"My great-grandfather insists there used to be a town there before it was suddenly swallowed whole," one of the patrons spoke up. "You know, where those big scorched places are in the middle of the forest. Where nothing grows."

"But you know, the real ghost story is the one about the man who summoned devils," the other patron said.

Luke turned to the two of them. "Yeah, not far from your place actually. This area used to be pretty religious. Like, puritan level, witch trials type of thing, strange for an old west ghost town which is why the story gets perpetuated, see. It was supposed to be some great utopia out here, I guess. Well, legend says one of the men had started consorting with witches. The priest was going to execute him, but before he could catch him, the man struck them down by deviltry. That's probably why the town was abandoned in the first place."

"But still, no ruins," the first patron said with a shrug. "Kinda spooky."

Hajime shifted uneasily. Tooru linked his fingers into Hajime's. "Well, we'll be sure to stay well away from anything that looks remotely suspicious.”

Another glance went around the room that Hajime chose to ignore. He dug into his food instead of prodding the topic. Tooru turned to look at him, eyebrows lowered in confusion. "Did you...?"

Hajime waited, but Tooru cocked his head to the side, then shook it. "Sorry, just distracted. This food is really good!"

The mood bounced back toward the end of their meal, so Tooru was back in good spirits by the time they left. “Weird,” he said with a shudder as they backed out of the parking lot. “Now we definitely aren’t hiking.”

“I’m glad that is what you got out of the conversation,” Hajime answered.

“But Iwa-chan! That just means we have more time together inside,” Tooru reasoned, kissing Hajime on the cheek. Hajime pulled away when it became apparent that Tooru was not. 

“If you want to make it to the cabin, you have to let me drive,” Hajime snapped. Tooru pouted but sat back in his seat with an exaggerated sigh. “Should we stop for groceries or anything before we get there?”

“No, I packed everything we needed for the weekend.” Tooru’s voice was still slightly sullen from Hajime’s telling off. 

“So hot dogs and maybe hamburger meat I’m assuming.”

“And eggs! And bread, _and_ sandwich meat! Honestly Iwa-chan, you underestimate me all the time.”

Hajime chuckled. “So sorry, oh great Oikawa-sama. Will you ever forgive me?”

Tooru sniffed. “I guess. Since I’m stuck with you all weekend. But that means you have to do exactly what I say.”

“Tonight,” Hajime answered promptly. 

“All. Weekend.”

“_A relationship is all about compromise, Hajime_," Hajime mocked in a falsetto voice that clearly was meant to be Tooru's and clearly wasn't. "I’m pretty sure you told me that just a few hours ago.”

“I don’t know why I’m dating you,” Tooru muttered.

"Because I'm the only one who would put up with you."

Tooru stuck his tongue out at Hajime before turning to his phone. Hajime almost felt bad, but Tooru slipped his hand into Hajime's free one, a silent compromise. Hajime grinned, turning up the music. Tooru smiled.

They pulled into the cabin driveway about ten minutes later. Tooru hopped out to investigate the front door while Hajime started unloading their luggage. "Strange," Hajime murmured as he glanced around. They were the only people for miles, it seemed. Usually there was a house or two next to a cabin like this. Hajime pulled up the Airbnb info Tooru had sent him, but all it said was _Most cell phones get reception, but every once in awhile there's a pocket of no service. There is a landline located in the house, and the closest neighbors have phones as well._ He guessed 'closest neighbors' could mean ten miles away. Hopefully they wouldn't need anything.

"Hurry up, Hajime!" Tooru yelled as he turned on the porch lights. Hajime hadn't realized that the sun was dropping low in the sky until he suddenly had light to see by. He hoisted their shared duffle bag onto his shoulder, along with his backpack and carried Tooru's two extra bags by the straps. "You know, you could help," Hajime said as he locked the car doors and dropped their stuff at the entrance of the cabin.

Tooru huffed. "I brought in the food. Anyway, look at this place! So cozy."

And it was, Haime had to admit. There was a small living room with the comfiest looking couch Hajime had ever seen. It sat in front of a flat-screen TV and to the left sat a fireplace, already stocked with logs. Down a narrow hallway sat a fully furnished kitchen, where Tooru had already started unloading the food, mostly to the bar. Hajime sighed, knowing he would be the one putting everything away. The floors were hardwood with plush rugs under the tables. All in all, pretty nice.

“The sun should just be setting. It would be beautiful to see through the trees.” Hajime frowned at the sealed windows on the far side of the room. He fiddled with the knob he found but nothing happened. “Does it say anything about these?”

Tooru flipped through the welcome book. “No. It just says not to open any of the windows that don’t have screens because of the bugs. Maybe try the other ones? I think the study windows will be the same.”

Hajime shrugged and wandered into the other room. These windows were definitely more normal, even though these curtains were tightly sealed as well. He unfastened the curtains, the rustling like voices of warning. He stilled his hand, a bad feeling forming in his stomach. “Maybe we shouldn’t...”

Before he could finish the thought, Tooru had pulled the blinds up. Both of them stared at the barren earth in front of them, the sun shining red like blood against the barrenness. You would never realize from the front of the house that this was what the back would look like. 

Shaken, Hajime started drawing the curtains. Tooru quickly snapped the blinds closed. He glanced around the room, then made a complete circle, as if looking for someone. Before Hajime could ask if he was alright, Tooru pressed himself into Hajime’s chest. Everything was eerily silent. 

“We can go put our stuff away,” Hajime said, trying to bring their happy mood back. He dragged Tooru out of the room. Of course Tooru complained the whole time Hajime stacked their bags against the wall in their room. “We’re not even unpacking!” he finally said, exasperated. Tooru pouted. Hajime couldn’t resist kissing him, which apparently was what Tooru wanted because he wrapped his arms around Hajime’s neck, pulling him closer, their unnerving discovery forgotten. 

"Should we make something for dessert?" Tooru asked in the offhand way that let Hajime know he wanted him to say yes.

"If there were anything for dessert, I'd say absolutely," Hajime played along, even though he was stuffed. 

"Well, then, it is your lucky day because I brought everything to make an apple crisp!" He grinned proudly. Hajime hid a smile and didn't say anything about the fact that they could have made the same thing at home, even though Tooru had clearly picked this particular dessert because of its camping tradition.

Tooru snuggled up to Hajime when they finally sat at the table. “All this time together. Whatever will we do with it?”

“I can think of some things,” Hajime replied, taking a bite of their dessert. “This turned out good.”

Tooru smiled and took a big bite of his own. “Mmm,” Tooru moaned, licking his lips, eyes fluttering closed. “So good, Hajime. Give me more.”

“You’re shameless.” Hajime rolled his eyes. Tooru grinned at him, taking another large bite.

“The faster we eat, the faster we can try out the bed,” Tooru pointed out.

Hajime had no argument for that. 

***

Tooru woke up alone. He traced his hand along Hajime’s side of the bed, noticing the warmth. So not gone long. Tooru grinned at the ceiling, imagining their day alone together. It was so rare nowadays for the two of them to get longer than two hours alone unless they were sleeping, and Tooru could admit it was mostly his fault. That was why he had jumped at the opportunity of a fairly cheap vacation. One of his volleyball teammates had had to cancel suddenly, but the cancellation wasn’t worth the fee, so Tooru had graciously taken the trip off of his hands. Even if it had been to the middle of nowhere. 

Tooru wondered if he should wait for Hajime to come back to him with breakfast (he knew Hajime well enough to know that last night was definitely a breakfast-in-bed type situation) but decided he was done waiting. He sat up, shivering when the air touched his bare skin. He wrapped himself in the comforter, because his clothes would be _freezing_, slipped on his slippers, and trooped to the kitchen. 

He frowned, confused, when he didn’t see Hajime there. In fact, he didn’t see much of anything he remembered from yesterday.

Everything looked...old. Their cooler sat next to a stack of firewood Tooru _knew_ had not been there yesterday, and if that wasn’t enough their oven had turned into a wood stove. Tooru glanced around uneasily, wishing Hajime was there. 

“Hey...Iwa-chan?” He hardly noticed he had reverted back to his childhood name for his boyfriend, but the name provided some comfort in this disconcerting situation. He got no answer. He glanced around again, noticing all the things wrong with the house, before darting back into their room to change. 

Once dressed, hair brushed quickly, toothbrush forgotten, he ran back out the the living area. “Hajime!” he yelled, his voice bordering on hysterical. He grabbed his phone off of the table—thank everything it was still there—but there was absolutely no signal. He snarled before flinging it into his backpack. “Hajime, where the hell are you?”

_Maybe you should try outside._

Tooru whirled around with a strangled scream, but there was nothing there, just like the last few times he had heard that voice. The door was not even in the right place anymore. Now, it sat where the shuttered windows had been. He held his head in his hands, forcing himself to breathe through the panic. An anxiety attack right now would help no one. He glanced around, wondering if he should bring anything with him before throwing open the wrongfully-placed door. 

He squinted in the glaring white sunlight. “Hajime?” he whimpered.

“Tooru! Fucking...thank goodness!” Tooru was pulled into familiar arms. “There was...something. Some figure. I followed them outside and then there was no cabin...” Tooru turned around to see that, in fact, there was no cabin, just undisturbed forest with the small dirt path they were currently standing on winding its way through the trees.

“Where the hell are we?” Tooru whispered.

"Look," Hajime said, pulling Tooru's face toward where the barren land had stood the night before. But instead of empty waste Tooru found a town. Or, part of a town. He glanced around and could only see one street, Main Street, by the looks of it. At the far end of town he saw a _torii_ gate, sitting above everything like an eye.

"Yeah, my question still stands. Maybe I wasn't clear enough before. Where the _fuck_ are we? Why would there be a _torii_ in a town in the middle of nowhere, Arizona?"

Hajime studied the landscape. "This...looks familiar."

Tooru pulled away. "You've _been here?!_"

Hajime rolled his eyes. "No, dumbass. I mean, I think that map on the wall of that lodge we ate dinner at was this town. The town everyone said disappeared."

"Oh please. Do you seriously believe that?"

"Well, why don't you tell me what's going on then? That seems like as good of an explanation as anything right now!" Tooru pulled his lips into a pout, because he knew what Hajime said made sense. But still...It was so impossible. Maybe he was still in bed. Maybe this was a vivid dream he needed to wake up from. He did the cliche thing and pinched himself, then winced when it hurt. Hajime nodded in satisfaction. "That's what I thought. Now, can we please figure out what we need to do to get out of here?"

"Let's just turn around and walk away!" Tooru said, and before waiting for Hajime to say anything he turned and marched in the direction away from town.

_You won't get away from me. Watch me._

Tooru shook his head, stopping himself from looking around. He had done that before. This voice was reverberating straight into his mind. There was no one there.

Hajime caught up to him. They walked in silence for a good ten minutes before Tooru let out a breath. "See? So what if we're missing our stuff. We can have the owners ship the important stuff back if it is not trapped in some time vortex..."

But Tooru's voice trailed off when he looked up and noticed the same town they had been walking away from right in front of them. He stopped dead.

"So that didn't work," Hajime said. Tooru turned on him, ready to unleash all his anger, but stopped when he noticed Hajime looked just as disconcerted as he felt. "On the map. It said _the second turn at the shrine_. Maybe that means something?"

Tooru stared at his boyfriend. "How do you remember that?"

Hajime shrugged."I looked at the map while you chatted. I thought it was weird they would mention a shrine. There wasn't much else to do."

"I guess that is as good of a suggestion as any," Tooru finally said. "The question is, do we turn around or just keep walking?"

Hajime rolled his eyes. "Come on." They walked down a slight slope into town together.

The weirdest part of all this, Tooru thought, was that there was no one else here. It was like walking onto the set of a movie taking place in the old west when all the actors had left for the day. The silence drove Tooru to huddle into Hajime's side. He laced their fingers tight together for comfort as they continued to walk down the street.

And walk. And walk. And walk.

Finally, Hajime stopped. "We've passed this building at least four times."

Tooru felt the anxiety creeping into his chest, making it hard to breathe. _You aren't doing this right._ He knew that thought was all him. "So we try to walk away and we can't. We walk through the town and it is an endless loop. What the hell, Hajime? What the fuck are we supposed to do?!"

"Hey. Hey! Settle down, deep breaths." Hajime took Tooru's shoulders in his hands, put himself close enough so all Tooru saw was Hajime's familiar face, his reassuring confidence. "Let's think of it like a puzzle. A video game..."

"I hate video games," Tooru muttered.

Hajime smiled. "We can't walk through. We can't walk away. What if we tried to walk into one of the shops? Maybe it will be the catalyst for something."

"You said you saw a figure leave the cabin, and that is why you walked out the door," Tooru said. He needed to focus. He needed to put his great deductive reasoning to work here to get them out of this situation. "Did you see where it went?"

Hajime shook his head. "I got a little distracted when I went to go back inside and there was _no cabin_."

Tooru held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. Geez, don't bite my head off. Maybe if we walk down one side of the street, and then the other when we notice we've walked the same path, we can see if there is anything different."

Hajime sighed but didn't argue. They walked down the wooden sidewalks, Tooru peering into the buildings. It was a fascinating study in nineteenth century life in the west, but still everything seemed deserted. 

They gave up the left side of the street. As they started down the right side, Hajime pulled Tooru’s arm back. “Listen,” he hissed. Tooru frowned but did as Hajime said. In the silence he could hear faint murmuring, like the creak of an old door. Hajime tilted his head that way, then began to creep silently toward what looked like a general store. Tooru tried to follow as silently as possible.

“We can’t thank you enough,” a man’s voice echoed out onto the street. Tooru peered into the window to see three figures who looked like holograms or distorted ghosts huddled around the counter. Two were distinctly male, the other a woman in ill-fitting men’s clothing.

“As long as you leave now, you should make it. I gave you three days’ rations along with a knife. Multi-use, for your protection and for your food, so keep it handy.”

“Thanks, Joe. You have really helped us,” the woman says. Her voice is small, hesitant, not used to being heard. The three apparitions wavered, cut out like a TV station in a storm before becoming firm again.

“This town is going to hell whether you do it or not,” the storekeeper, Joe, answered, his voice sounding like it came down a pipe. “I would rather see you safely away than executed.”

“Let’s go,” the man urged, tugging at the woman’s arm. His voice echoed much clearer. To the storekeeper, the man said, “Once again, thank you.” The woman glanced over at the door, almost straight into Tooru’s eyes. Her eyes were black, black holes. Tooru reared back, almost slamming his head into Hajime’s. Luckily, Hajime held out his hand to stop the impact. 

They stepped back as the door swung open, the couple glancing around at what Tooru could only assume were people they could not see, before the man pulled the woman's wrist to keep her behind him.

_Follow me. Follow me!_

Tooru shuddered. "Hajime, I think...I think the woman is talking to me."

Hajime stared at Tooru, who grasped onto his hand tighter. The farther the couple got away from Tooru, the more his head felt stretched, ready to explode. "They want us to follow."

Hajime, eyes still wide in disbelief, motioned for Tooru to walk. Taking a deep breath, Tooru put one foot in front of the other, following distorted ghosts. They wavered, appearing and disappearing without notice. Every time they disappeared, Tooru felt his heartbeat spike before they returned, more or less humanoid. Every once in awhile, another figure would appear, spiking into the picture before disappearing. It made Tooru disoriented, the strange colors, the weird static it created in his mind. 

He wanted to get out of this as soon as possible.

This time, Tooru noticed, he and Hajime got farther through the town than before, right to the very edge, where the steps up to the _torii_ gate stood. But suddenly the couple halted. Tooru could see in the distortion that the woman looked alarmed, grasping onto the man, who put her behind him in a protective stance. A spike of energy showed Tooru the outline of a hand wielding a knife, another outline of a man, this one standing tall and proud in a dark tailcoat. Countless others that came and went like lightning.

“You will be killing an innocent! Does the Bible not preach thou shall not kill? It's me you want!” the man was shouting. It tore Tooru's attention back. Then everything disappeared, no energy pressing on Tooru, no ghosts pleading their case.

Tooru and Hajime shared a look. Hajime shrugged and took a step. Tooru watched his eyes widen, his mouth open, his hands grasp at his side before he keeled over.

"Hajime!" Tooru ran toward where Hajime had fallen and stopped suddenly when he saw the man's ghost tear itself away from the exact place Hajime had fallen, staggering to his feet with the same wound. Then, suddenly, there was noise. A lot of screaming, mostly, with some trampling feet and at least seven ghostly apparitions. The pain in Tooru's head was back full-force, making it difficult to concentrate on the blood that flowed out of Hajime like a spigot had opened.

A gunshot rang out. Tooru flinched, his body pressing against Hajime as protection. It didn't matter. Hajime groaned. Tooru watched in horror as blood coated Hajime's shoulder. Shaking, Tooru pulled Hajime's shirt down and saw a hole the size of a bullet in his shoulder.

"Shit!" Tooru didn't care about noise anymore, he just wanted Hajime okay. His hands fluttered next to Hajime for a moment as he decided which wound to tackle first. He pressed them to Hajime's side, his hands instantly covered in blood.

A sharp spike in energy made Tooru scream out in pain. He automatically pressed a hand to the side of his head, trying to alleviate the pulsing, pounding ache. He left a handprint of Hajime's blood on his cheek.

Hajime shuddered, eyes closing, body going limp.

“No! Hajime, wake up, you can’t...” Tooru winced as the screaming pitched higher, a needle directly into his brain.

_Notice me, notice me, LOOK AT ME!_

Tooru covered his ears, Hajime's blood coating his hair, folding himself smaller as the woman raged around him, her somewhat coherent form distorting into fractals of flaky ash. Tooru gasped, trying to get a breath of fresh air, trying to find Hajime, but all he felt was this woman’s essence clogging his nose, dipping down into his throat. He choked, clawing at his neck until he fell to the ground. “Haji...Hajime,” he whispered before the world went black. 

***

“Shit,” Hajime muttered when he woke up, pressing his good hand to the wound in his side. He looked at his shoulder, but all he saw was his shirt stuck to his skin with blood. He could use his good hand to lift the shirt, but he felt that if he moved his hand from his side all of his organs would spill out.

At least the apparitions had disappeared for the moment, leaving him with silence for company. He felt blood seeping through his fingers like water from a spout. He knew he should look, figure out what to do, so he closed his eyes, took three quick breaths, and opened them, peering down at his side, ignoring the throbbing in his shoulder when he moved. 

The hole was deep. Hajime thought that if someone wanted they could probably see his intestines. He sighed, pressed his head against the ground hard, willing himself to stand. 

“Hey...Tooru...” he called, voice rough with pain. But the silence was absolute. He glanced around, and for the first time noticed that he was, in fact, alone.

He needed to stand. He needed to move, he needed to find Tooru and figure out how to get the hell out of this nightmare.

Sitting was torture. He stifled a cry, holding his hand to his side. He felt like if he let go everything inside of him would spill onto the ground. But wherever Tooru went, he needed to find him. 

After an eternity, he got to his knees. The world spun dizzingly. He closed his eyes, took some deep breaths, for whatever good that would do for him. He gasped when he stood, his wounds stretching. More blood gushed from the wound, an unbelievable amount. He should be dead, at least passed out.

A flickering in the right corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned his head to find the male ghost staggering toward the shrine, his posture a mirror image of Hajime's. “Mary. Mary!”

Hajime figured the best he could do was follow at this point, allow the story to play out. He had seen enough ghost stories to know how this worked, to a certain extent. And he was not in a position to think on his own at the moment anyway.

Hajime watches the man make it up the stairs. Hajime wanted to cry just thinking about ascending them. He pressed his hand more firmly to his side before dragging his leg up, taking the first step.

The rest of the trip was a blur of pain, the world a pinwheel of colors. Hajime thought about closing his eyes, but he was afraid his balance would be more affected that way than if he just focused on one spot on each step.

Noise started at the entrance of the shrine. He needed to get there before he missed something. Before Tooru was hurt because of what was happening. Huffing, Hajime sprinted up the last five steps, never more grateful for his dedication to the gym than now. 

He made it through the _torii_. Glancing around, he frowned. This was nothing like the shrines he was used it. It was more like a cemetery than anything. He wondered if someone here had just liked the look of the _torii_ and incorporated it into their decoration. Not the first time, probably not the last. Maybe the sacrilege had something to do with this destruction.

Pushing the thought out of his mind, he focused on the scene in front of him in time to see the same ghost who had shanked the man standing before him, forced to kneel by three huge men. “We should have drown the creature, but since we are in a holy place we have buried her in this hallowed ground so she may find some redemption, if God allows.”

The man strained against his captors. The image wavered, distorts, before snapping into focus. “You claim this land is hallowed, but I will make it so it is barren, cursed to remember the atrocities that have happened here. You claim that she is the unholy creature, but your bias has made you blind.” The man said a few quick words of something that sounded ancient.

A sharp gust of wind blew down the path, creating a small cyclone in front of the man. The ground rumbled, causing the men holding the wounded man to lose their balance. The young man stood, suddenly taller than before, glowing an eerie blue that Hajime wasn’t sure was enhanced by the ghostliness of him, or if this had actually happened. His wound pulsed.

"Mary is dead because of you. And I will destroy everything that you have created, everything you ever loved. Where is your god now?"

Behind him, Hajime heard the town start to collapse in on itself. He turned to see dust, watched as one by one the buildings collapsed. More distortions appeared below, marked by the eerie blue, screaming and pleading and running and dying. Hajime bit down on his lip as he watched so many people perish.

“Please,” Hajime whispered, not sure why he said it or who he was saying it to. The ghost turned his way, eyes wide. In the strange moment, Hajime felt his limbs become his own again. The pain in his side lessened, his shoulder just a dull throb. “I’m sorry. For what happened to you.”

The man’s eyes hardened. He pointed at Hajime, and Hajime took that as a sign to get the hell out of there. He barreled his way past the apparition and further into the cemetery.

A tree creaked ominously, and Hajime sprinted faster, narrowly missing being crushed. That was the first turn then. He needed the second. 

Down just a few feet to the right sat another path. He took it, praying it was the second turn, praying Tooru was there because he didn't know where else to go or do...

His foot pressed into freshly turned soil. He glanced down. This must be where the woman had been prematurely buried. He wondered if he could do anything...

And then he saw the keychain. 

It had a volleyball on it, and attached to the same ring was Tooru’s university keychain, the one he had purchased at the bookstore on their tour when he officially decided that was the school he wanted to go to. 

“Tooru!” Hajime choked out. Without thinking, he knelt and dragged scoops of freshly turned soil out of the hole, his own wounds forgotten. 

He felt warmth about three feet down. He scrambled to locate a mouth, a nose, something to help this person breathe. Praying it wasn’t Tooru, praying whoever it was was still alive. 

Of course it was Tooru. Hajime brushed the soil off of Tooru’s face. His eyes stared sightlessly to the sky. “No. Tooru! Dammit, wake up.” He pulled Tooru into sitting position, dirt raining down on them. He hooked a finger in Tooru’s mouth, struggling to clear his airway. “Please, come on. You aren’t dead. You aren’t.”

_I am dead, and no one remembers me. Now, you will remember._

Suddenly, Tooru spasmed in Hajime’s arms. He took a deep, gasping breath, then heaved. Dirt rained out of his mouth, followed by a cloud of black oozing liquid that turned to fog as it hit the ground. He glanced up at Hajime, black goopy tears streaming down his face, mixing with blood Hajime was sure was his own. Hajime forced himself not to run as Tooru proceeded to expel whatever entity had possessed him. “Haji...” he gasped, hands grasping blindly for Hajime. Hajime pulled him close, wiped the fluids and dirt and gunk off of his face as best he could. When Tooru’s breathing at last stuttered into a somewhat normal pattern, Hajime lay his head on Tooru’s with a sigh, wrapping him tightly in his arms. Trembling, Tooru buried himself into the security Hajime provided. 

And when Hajime opened his eyes, he found himself lying in bed, Tooru curled under his chin in his usual spot, their legs tangled together. Hajime blinked a few times before jolting upright, patting his body to make sure he didn't have a hole in his side or a bullet in his shoulder.

His sudden movement woke Tooru. “Hajime, what are you...” he froze, eyes wide. He scrambled upright as well, glancing around. So, Hajime assumed, Tooru had had something happen to him as well. Hajime watched him as he grasped his throat, ran his fingers through his hair, then said, “I need to brush my teeth. Can we...go?”

“God yes,” Hajime said. “I’ll start packing.”

Neither of them spoke much as they packed up their stuff. As Hajime stripped the bed, he noticed dirt on the sheets. Tooru shuddered. “We’re never going camping again.”

At this point, Hajime wasn’t going to argue. 

***

They stopped for gas on the way out of town. Tooru walked in to grab water and chocolate—lots of chocolate. He didn’t even care if he were blowing his diet. After the night he had had being buried alive, he figured he deserved it.

As he paid, someone came up next to him. “Aren’t you the one who came in last night for dinner? Going out for a hike?”

Luke smiled as Tooru whirled around. “Oh. No, we’re heading out.”

“Already?” Tooru nodded, crossing a foot over his ankle. “Man, sorry it wasn’t to your liking.”

Tooru shrugged. “There were some...things, that happened. We didn’t feel comfortable staying.”

Luke's eyes widened. “I am so sorry.” He hesitated. “Was it...”

Tooru waited, but the man didn’t continue. “Sir, here are your purchases.”

“Oh, thanks.” Tooru took his bag, stuffed his wallet in his back pocket. He turned back to the man. “Um, have you checked the place where the _torii_\--um, shrine gate, used to sit? There might be a body of a woman there. At the second turn. Just...thought it might help your curse situation. Thanks for all your help this weekend!”

With that Tooru hurried out the door before Luke could respond, his whole body trembling. He took a vicious bite of his chocolate bar, and when Hajime got into the car Tooru wound their arms together. “Luke from the lodge was in there.”

Hajime raised his eyebrows. “What did he say? What did _you_ say?”

“Rude, Hajime. I was perfectly civil! I just told him there might be a dead body behind the cabin.”

Hajime winced. He didn’t pull out of the parking lot. “Should we, like, actually talk about this?”

“What? The fact that we were transported back to a literal ghost town where I was buried alive and you were shanked?” Hajime nodded. Tooru sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe it was all just a shared dream and we’re being unreasonable.”

“I watched you die,” Hajime said softly. His hand tightened on the steering wheel before dropping off of it completely. Tooru swallowed. “It was...the worst moment of my life.”

“Let’s just go home,” Tooru whispered. Hajime nodded. Tooru let go of Hajime long enough for him to start the car before tucking his head on Hajime’s shoulder.

_Why do you deserve the happiness I never got?_

Tooru shuddered, squeezing Hajime tighter. When he glanced in the rearview mirror he could have sworn his eyes had looked blacker than normal. He averted his eyes. 

“Maybe we should also find a priest to exorcise us,” Tooru said, only half joking.

“I will literally do whatever makes you feel comfortable,” Hajime answered immediately.

“Then we are never going camping again.” Hajime shot him a dirty look, and Tooru winked at him. “Within reason. Extensive research must be done before any vacation is determined anymore.”

“So we’re not going to start Iwaizumi and Oikawa: Ghost Hunters on YouTube?”

Tooru gasped. “Hajime, we could be _famous_!” 

Hajime snorted. “I think you should stick with volleyball. Ghosts seem to like you.”

Tooru could not disagree with him. “And since our vacation was so rudely interrupted, I insist that we stay in the apartment in bed for the next 48 hours. The only exception being food. You should pamper your once-dead boyfriend. I had a traumatic experience, Hajime. Life-altering!”

“Not altering enough for your trashy personality to change.”

“You are a terrible boyfriend!” But Tooru kissed Hajime’s cheek. “Thanks.”

Hajime didn’t ask what for and Tooru didn’t know what he would say. “We can spend the day in,” Hajime said. Tooru smiled and closed his eyes. He ignored the roiling feeling in his stomach.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments/kudos always appreciated!


End file.
